Aaron Rodgers' call will rank with Babe Ruth, Joe Namath if Packers 'run the table'
Aaron Rodgers should win the MVP, but his bold claim at 4-6 could make him an all-timer
By
Bill Reiter
•
3 min read
Let's a take moment to appreciate, fully and completely, the historic level of quarterbacking brilliance Aaron Rodgers has unleashed his past eight games.
This is the stuff of legends -- among the greatest stretches, mixed with perhaps the most bold of predictions in the game's history, that we've ever seen.
It's why, unequivocally and with all due respect to Tom Brady, Matt Ryan, Ezekiel Elliott and the league's other remarkable talents, Rodgers should be this season's Most Valuable Player.
It's not even close.
He's not battling those guys for accolades anymore. He's battling history.
It's easy to lose sight of how great a QB era we're living in. Brady is already the greatest of all time, Ben Roethlisberger could become only the fifth quarterback to win three championships, Peyton Manning just stepped away from the game after a thrilling cap to his career, Ryan has Atlanta doing dizzying things on offense -- it's an overwhelming barrage of greatness from the game's quarterbacks.
But Rodgers is doing something equally astounding, at least lately. Consider: When the Packers were 4-6, Rodgers called his shot -- insisting the Packers could run the table, finish 10-6, earn a playoff spot and shock the world.
Every game from then on was both an elimination game and, increasingly, a test in making good on bold talk in a league that can make the best among it pay for swagger and guarantees.
Then Rodgers went out and was nothing short of extraordinary, winning not just those six regular-season games to help Green Bay finish 10-6 and win the division but now two playoff games as well. That's the equivalent of half of a season.
To put it in perspective, here's how that stretch -- under all that duress -- would compare to the greatest QB seasons of all time if Rodgers did it over a 16-game stretch:
| QB | Year | Pass Yards | TD | INT | QB rating | Record |
| Tom Brady | 2007 | 4,806 | 50 | 8 | 117.2 | 16-0 |
| Drew Brees | 2011 | 5,476 | 46 | 14 | 110.6 | 13-3 |
| Peyton Manning | 2013 | 5,477 | 55 | 10 | 115.1 | 13-3 |
| Aaron Rodgers | 2016-17 | 4,768* | 42* | 2* | 118.5 | 8-0 |
*Numbers extrapolated over a 16-game season.
Rodgers would have the fourth-best QB rating in league history if he posted a 118.5 mark over an entire 16-game season (Rodgers himself has the best, 122.5, from the 2011 season). And Rodgers is obviously undefeated over this stretch.
Yes, eight more games would give plenty of time for the wheels to come off. But here's the thing about what Rodgers is doing even with a smaller sample size: Each of those eight games was an elimination game for him and his Packers. Rodgers is on the greatest roll of any quarterback in NFL history, a streak up there with Brady's and Manning's greatest seasons ever but in what has in effect been an eight-game playoff push.
In fact, Rodgers calling his shot, if he can keep it going against Atlanta on Sunday and then in the Super Bowl against New England or Pittsburgh, would also be among the great sports declarations in the history of all sports.
Let's rank them:
1. Put Babe Ruth calling his shot at Wrigley Field atop them all since it gave birth to the very idea. This is the stuff of legend, of course, and hard to top. But Rodgers is close.
2. Joe Namath's Super Bowl III guarantee similarly ushered in a new level of confidence, even swagger, as a defining characteristic of sports stars. But in this case it benefited the NFL. It was a huge leap forward for the league in relevance and star power and, given the odds against success, a ballsy move to go out and back up.
3. Here's where Rodgers should rank, at a minimum, if he leads Green Bay to another Super Bowl title. It's hard to overstate how well he's playing, the fact he has done it missing key receivers or what it takes to single-handedly infuse your team with enough confidence and great QB play to turn a four-game losing streak into a 10-game run that ends with the confetti falling for you and your guys.
4. Michael Jordan guaranteeing a Bulls win in Game 7 against the Pacers in the 1998 Eastern Conference finals. Jordan was clear: He didn't make promises he couldn't back up. Enough said.
5. Pat Riley assuring the world the Lakers would get another title moments after winning the 1987 NBA Finals. Riley made that promise in an era of Bird and those Celtics, an act of arrogance and certainty that helped define that era, that rivalry and the game itself.
So, Aaron Rodgers is doing something the likes of which we've rarely seen in sports -- both in terms of performance and in having called a shot few thought possible. Let's enjoy it as long as we can, because Ryan -- and, if not him, Brady or Roethlisberger -- can still put a stop to it all.
